Devotion: How well do you listen?

“Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22

I sat on the edge of my 12-year-old’s bed and expressed to him my disappointment and sadness I felt because he hadn’t listened to the instruction I had given him that day. He simply gets distracted during the life in the day of a 12-year-old boy enjoying his summer. I explained to him that when he didn’t obey my instruction, even though he wasn’t being spiteful about it, that it was disrespectful and didn’t show me honor. During this conversation with my son, immediately, God spoke to my heart, in a very simple and loving way, but very convicting, “How do you think I feel Suzanne when you don’t obey me?” I prayed right away asking God for forgiveness, thinking I’ll get it right tomorrow. Well, I didn’t. For several nights, I had to have this conversation with my son about him being intentional with being obedient to the instruction I leave for him during the day. But each night, God continually reminded me of how He feels when I am not listening to Him and the instruction He has been giving me.

What in your life is God instructing you to do? Maybe it’s committing your time and heart to read the Bible and grow closer to Him through that. Maybe it’s forgiving someone who has hurt you. Maybe it’s doing a kind act for a stranger that pulls you way out of your comfort zone. I think many people tend to think of being obedient as to the “big” things in life. The little everyday things in life can have a huge impact. Pray about what you need to be obedient to God with.

Whether you are a parent, a boss, a teacher, etc., you may have this realistic expectation that when you give instruction it should be obeyed. God has this same expectation. He gives us instruction and expects and desires us to obey Him. Imagine how different situations in your life could turn out if you obey your Abba Father, your Creator who has a perfect and wonderful plan for your life! Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

Let’s Reflect:1 John 2:3-6 “We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says, ‘I know Him,” but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.”1 John 3:16-24“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because we obey His commands and do what please Him. And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us. Those who obey His commands live in Him, and He in them. And this is how we know that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us.”

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, oh, thank you for the grace you extend me. Please continue to convict my heart in the areas of my life that I am not obedient to you in. Please stretch and grow me bringing me out of dis-obedience and giving me the courage to obey even the tiniest command you have given to me. With all my love, I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.